Concepts in Vue, Angular & Svelte
Vue: The Progressive Framework Philosophy
Vue's progressive philosophy means you can use as little or as much of it as you need. Use it for a single interactive widget, or scale it up to a full SPA with official libraries.
Angular: The 'Batteries-Included' Framework
Angular is a 'batteries-included' framework, providing a complete, official toolkit for routing, forms, and more. This is ideal for large teams needing consistency, but its opinionated nature means fighting the framework if you prefer different tools.
Svelte: A Compiler, Not Just a Framework
Svelte is a compiler that turns your component files into efficient, imperative vanilla JavaScript at build time. This avoids shipping a large runtime, leading to smaller bundles. The footgun is thinking of it as just a runtime; its power is in the build step.
Why Angular Relies on TypeScript
Angular uses TypeScript to build large, scalable apps with confidence by enforcing structure through static types. This is key for its dependency injection and component architecture, ensuring pieces fit together.
Vue Single-File Components (SFCs)
Vue Single-File Components (.vue files) colocate a component's template, logic, and styling into one modular unit. This is the standard for building Vue SPAs and static sites, enabling scoped CSS and pre-compiled templates. Remember, SFCs require a build step.
Angular's Hierarchical Dependency Injection
Angular's DI is a tree of injectors mirroring your components. When a component needs a service, Angular walks up the tree to find the first provider. Use it to scope services to UI branches, but beware: providing at a component level creates a new instance.
Why Svelte Skips the Virtual DOM
Svelte skips the Virtual DOM, treating it as runtime overhead. It acts as a compiler, generating precise JavaScript to update the DOM directly. This avoids the 'diffing' step of frameworks like React, leading to smaller bundles and faster updates.
Vue: Options API vs. Composition API
Options API organizes Vue components by property type (data, methods). Composition API organizes them by logical feature. Use Composition API for complex components with tangled logic or for creating reusable 'composable' functions.
Vue's Reactivity: JavaScript That Acts Like a Spreadsheet
Vue's reactivity system makes your data act like a spreadsheet: change a value, and dependent parts of your app update automatically. It works by wrapping your data in special objects. The footgun: reactivity is lost if you replace a whole object.
Scaffolding a Vite Project with `create-vite`
Use create-vite to instantly generate a new web project with your chosen framework. It's the fastest way to start a Vue, React, or Svelte app without manual setup. The footgun is forgetting you can pass a --template flag to skip interactive prompts.
ng new: Your Angular Project Starter Kit
The ng new command is your starter kit for any Angular project. It scaffolds a complete, runnable application with a standard folder structure and dependencies, letting you skip manual setup.
SvelteKit: From Zero to Dev Server
Spin up a new SvelteKit app with npx sv create. This command scaffolds a project, prompting you to add tools like TypeScript. Then, npm run dev starts your dev server. The key footgun: forgetting to install dependencies before starting the server.
Vite's HMR API: Manually Controlling Hot Reloads
Vite's HMR API lets a module handle code changes without a full reload. While frameworks usually manage this, you can use it for custom tooling. The footgun: forgetting to wrap HMR code in if (import.meta.hot) will crash your production build.
Vite Config: The Control Panel for Your Build
Think of vite.config.js as a dynamic script, not a static file. It lets you programmatically change your build based on context, like serving for development versus building for production.
SvelteKit Adapters: Bridge Your App to Production
A SvelteKit adapter is a power plug for your app, making your universal build fit a specific deployment target like Vercel or a Node server. You configure it based on your host, like adapter-static for static sites. The footgun is forgetting one entirely.
Vite's Plugin System: Extending Dev and Build
Vite's plugin system extends its dev server and build process, leveraging Rollup's mature ecosystem. Use it to add framework support or handle custom assets. The footgun is forgetting to control execution order with enforce, causing compatibility issues.
Vite's Low-Level SSR API
Vite's SSR API lets you run Vite as a middleware inside your own Node.js server, giving you full control over rendering. It's for building custom SSR solutions, often with Express. The footgun: most apps should use a higher-level SSR plugin, not this API.
SvelteKit Hooks: Intercepting Requests and Events
SvelteKit Hooks are like middleware, letting you intercept requests and events to run app-wide logic. Use them for tasks like authentication checks, initializing DB clients, or custom routing.
Vite's Dependency Pre-Bundling
Vite's dev server pre-bundles dependencies to accelerate local development. It converts CommonJS modules to browser-native ESM and merges packages with many files into one, preventing massive HTTP request chains.
Vue Component Props: Passing Data Downstream
Think of props as a component's 'arguments.' They let a parent pass data down to a child, making it reusable. Use them to pass dynamic data like a user's name to a profile card. The footgun: never mutate a prop directly inside the child component.
We are hiring for this. Every open role lists the topics its interview covers, so you can prepare for the real thing rather than guessing.
See open roles